A Cathartic Realization
by avocadowithpep
Summary: Deku vs. Muscular, from Kota's POV. An introspective one-shot.


By day three, Kota had decided that he hated this stupid Summer Camp with his whole heart. The week wasn't even halfway over yet and he hated _all _of it! He hated that he was always being told what to do by conceited Pro Heroes. He hated the stupid Hero-worshipping students and he didn't like eating the food they made. He also didn't like going hungry... but he just couldn't stand the thought of slinking back for dinner scraps now.

Kota only wanted to be alone. He went to his secret base for that, the special place that he had found all by himself. High up on the rocky cliff, his problems felt as distant as the Camp house - and the Camp house was only a tiny speck of light far below. Unfortunately, it wasn't a _perfect_ secret anymore... Kota had been furious when one of his problems managed to track him all the way up here. And then that jerk Midoriya even had the nerve to try feeding him curry. The sheer nerve!

When Kota observed the rising smoke in the north forest, he thought to himself that the stupid Hero students were really going too far.

'**Kota!**'

Shino's voice intruded sharply into his head and Kota jumped.

'**Get back to camp! This is an emergency, Kota! You hear me? A real emergency! I'm sorry... I don't know where you're always going.**'

Never, _ever _before had his aunt sounded so pleading. Kota rose uneasily to his feet and felt a crawling chill between his shoulder blades - the sudden, uncomfortable feeling that he was being watched. Was that only imagination? What could have made Shino sound so urgent? Kota turned and his awful paranoia was legitimized. There stood a man - huge, hulking, draped in a black cloak. His face was hidden behind an expressionless mask. It might as well have been a nightmare.

Kota took one tiny step backward, away from this man who had appeared from nowhere to stalk him from behind. His knees were quaking. He took one more tiny step. All the while, Shino continued speaking telepathically to him.

'**I'm so sorry, Kota! I'm sorry that I can't come for you myself, so you have to get back here! Get to camp, Kota!**'

Only when his aunt's voice fell silent did Kota realize how he had been clinging to the comfort of it. _An emergency...? Who is this guy?!_

"I just came up here for the view." The masked man said. "Didn't think I'd find a child... and you're not on the list." He pulled his arms from beneath his cloak to give a thumbs-up gesture. "That hat's pretty slick, by the way. Wanna trade for my mask? I think it's lame, but I'm just a newbie and they made me wear it." The man put his hands to his face, presumably to tug the mask off.

Kota forced his quivering muscles into motion. He spun on his heel to bolt away, but there was an immediate cry of 'Hey!' from behind and then a loud crash.

The huge man had appeared to block his path, colliding so forcefully with the rock wall that fragments of stone exploded around him. Kota recoiled in terror.

"C'mon, now! I wanna have _fun _with you!" The man screamed, and lunged at him. That motion blew his hood back, and his unmasked face was revealed.

_No... no, not him! _Kota's terror became tenfold. This horrible man wanted to kill him, and suddenly that wasn't even the most horrible part. _No! _Kota started to cry. His mind flashed through images of the past while the present seemed to be progressing in slow motion. He remembered the many news stories about his parents' murder. _Mom and Dad... _He remembered the frequently flaunted mugshot of the 'villain' responsible. _No!_

Right now that very same villain was coming at him faster than should be possible. _Muscular! _How many times had he thought that name was dumb? It made sense, now. The man's muscles burst through his skin. His right arm was wound back for a punch that would surely beat Kota right into the ground. But then something that was really, _truly _impossible happened - only one person in the entire world knew the location of Kota's secret base, and that one person swooped in to grab him at the last possible second.

Kota wrenched himself free of Midoriya's hold as soon as he could. A dust cloud had spread from Muscular's attack. The both of them coughed to clear their lungs. Midoriya looked especially breathless, though... _Did he run as fast as he could to get here? Why would he do that? Why?! _"Why...?"

The dust was only just beginning to settle and Midoriya moved like lightning, putting himself between Kota and the villain in a low crouch. He glanced backward briefly, and then all of his focus was directed forward. "It'll be okay, Kota." He said with confidence. "I'm gonna save you!"

Weakly, Kota shook his head back and forth. _But I- I was only ever rude to him. I hit him! As hard as I could! Why should he even try to save me?_ Tears continued pouring from his eyes, seemingly endless. For once it didn't even occur to him to try holding them back.

"You're gonna save him?" Muscular roared with laughter. "I guess a budding Hero _would _say that. And you..." Muscular stepped toward them, and Midoriya tensed up in readiness. "You _were _on the list. This is just perfect." His arms began rippling again, the muscle fibers building and building upon themselves, and then he came at them fist first. "Show me some blood!"

That super-powered punch batted Midoriya aside as if he were no obstacle at all. He crashed into the tall rock wall and Muscular moved to pin him there.

"Oh, yeah," Muscular's expression stretched with a grin, "I should ask. My job's the one named Bakugo, see." Midoriya reacted to that with plain shock and Muscular's grin widened. "D'you know where he is?"

Midoriya escaped from Muscular's grasp as the man wound back for another punch. He landed on his feet with his fists up, ready to defend.

"You're not gonna answer?" Muscular turned slowly around. "Then I guess you can just be my plaything!"

Before Kota could even have blinked, Midoriya had hit the wall again. The impact was worse this time, much worse, and his body bounced off only to tumble across the ground. Muscular still had one leg raised. Had he kicked him? How could he be so fast?

"This is fun!" Muscular laughed like he was having the time of his life. "What was that you said..? Aw, yeah! You're gonna save the kid, isn't that right? So..." He cocked his head to the side, his grin plainly mocking. "Why're you just lying there? How're you gonna save him like _that?_"

Kota felt sick to his stomach. Blood leaked down Midoriya's face and trickled out from beneath him. He'd been badly hurt by that last attack. Regardless, Midoriya planted his palms on the ground and began to push himself up. His elbows shook, his balance wobbled, but the glare he aimed at Muscular was steady. _Unbelievable...! He's gonna get up... after that?!_

Midoriya drew a deep breath, then jumped right at Muscular. His arm was glowing brightly with power. He threw all of that crackling energy forward at Muscular in a punch, and then it seemed almost nothing happened at all.

"Is that supposed to be your Quirk?" Muscular asked. He'd blocked the attack with one arm and hadn't even flinched. "Pretty quick, but-" He barely moved - his leg was a blur on the air, and the kick sent Midoriya hurtling back across the ground. "-you're too weak! Like, you're really just an inferior version of me!"

Midoriya curled up with his left hand pressed against his midsection. His right arm now dangled limply from his shoulder. Was it broken? When had that happened? Midoriya gasped for breath between fits of coughing. Blood painted his face.

"I have to laugh." Muscular jeered. He approached Midoriya, who made an effort to get up. "You're gonna save him? _How?! _Talk is cheap, kid. You really oughtta be honest with yourself."

Midoriya slumped to the ground, panting.

Muscular raised both arms high overhead and as he did they grew to enormous size. He was going to strike again, and how much more could Midoriya take? More, it seemed, but how much more? And, most importantly, _why?!_

Without giving the action any thought at all, Kota moved. He snatched a rock from the ground and threw it with every ounce of strength he had. His aim was true, and the rock struck the back of Muscular's head - _just_ hard enough to get his attention.

With a look of surprise, Muscular lowered his arms and turned around.

Words flew from Kota as thoughtlessly as that rock had. "Do you remember Water Hose?!" He demanded, his voice rough. "I wanna know... Did you torture my Mom and Dad like this when you killed them?!"

"Water Hose...? They gave me this glass eye." Muscular sounded amused. "You're really their kid? This is, like, fate!" He stalked forward. Midoriya, behind him, gasped and began pushing himself more desperately to stand.

"It's because of you!" Kota held his ground, even as his voice and his shoulders were shaking. _My Mom and Dad! They should be alive! Now Midoriya's gonna die, too._ "You- you _villain! _It's because of you and people like you that bad things always end up happening!"

"You really gonna pass the blame, kid?" Muscular stared down at him like he was an ant. As he walked nearer, his arms built in strength. "We all go for what we want in life, yeah? I wanted to kill your parents. They wanted to stop me. What really matters is who can put their money where their mouth is." He stopped, just a pace away, and put on another cruel grin. "Your dear Mommy and Daddy sure couldn't! But I wonder," Muscular readied a punch while Kota was rooted to the ground in fear, "can you?!"

With a roar, Midoriya leaped into the air. "The only one to blame here is _you!_" His entire body glowed now, the power of his Quirk radiant even in the air around him. _Midoriya, he's-_

"You worthless piece of trash!" Muscular whirled to meet the attack, but he wasn't as ready as he thought he was.

Somehow, Midoriya was able to use his broken right arm - he jammed it straight through the villain's muscles just to get in close, then drew back his left. Kota felt a rush of air that blew his hair forward into his eyes. _That's so much power! _He had to squint at the brightness of it now, but he didn't want to look away.

Then, with a peculiar suddenness, the air grew still. Even Kota's breath stalled in his lungs. He didn't get to see much of what happened next - when Midoriya loosed his attack, all of the air that had pulled in around him was blown outward and hit Kota like a physical force. An explosion of dirt and pebbles followed the shockwave. Kota felt himself tumbling, weightless, head over heels. The next thing he remembered seeing was that tiny spot of light in the distance that marked the Camp house. _It's upside down. _He knew his own thought was stupid even as it struck him. _I'm upside down. _His heart stopped beating for a sick moment. _I think I'm... falling. I'm falling!_

Kota's eyes rounded in horror. He opened his mouth, hoping he had time to get enough breath for a scream. He did, barely, but it didn't really matter anyway. Kota had only just locked his gaze with the tops of the trees far below when his descent was stopped short. He heard a whimper, realized it had come from his own mouth, and then looked up to see Midoriya.

"Shorry." Midoriya managed to say. He was bloody and battered and both of his arms were broken now - he'd caught Kota's t-shirt between his teeth. With a grunt of effort, Midoriya hauled him up onto the cliff.

"Th-thank you!" Kota spluttered. _But why...?!_

Midoriya stood and his balance wavered. His every breath was ragged, his chest heaving. The numerous breaks in his arms were an awful, dark purple. He stared toward the rock wall. Kota glanced over, too, but he winced away - all he could see of Muscular was the man's legs. Everything else was rubble and blood, and he didn't want to be looking at any of that. _Is it over?_

"Let's get back to camp, Kota." Midoriya looked to him with a tired smile. "It's not-" His smile slipped to shock. "-far..." Midoriya turned his head and his posture sagged. "No... no freaking way..."

Kota knew what he would see before he looked. Muscular was now getting up from the rubble, his frayed and damaged muscles knitting themselves back together. By the time the villain stood on his feet, he looked to be perfectly alright - and more entertained than ever.

"Okay, that wasn't bad." Muscular said lightly.

Midoriya stepped in front of Kota and shouted, "Stay back!"

"Yeah, right." Muscular laughed. "Here I come, no stopping me now."

"What is it you want?" Midoriya asked. "What's the League of Villains _after?_"

Muscular laughed harder. "Like I care! All _I_ want is to rampage! To let loose, to use my Quirk without holding back!" He cocked his head back to regard Midoriya. His muscles bulged everywhere, growing and growing until they had overtaken everything but his jeering face. "Remember when I said you were gonna be my plaything? I meant that. But you are _strong_... so I'm gonna get serious now. Playtime's over, kids."

"Kota, grab on!" Midoriya ordered.

"Huh...?" Kota felt dazed. He did as he was told more by instinct than by conscious decision.

Midoriya jumped, getting them both out of harm's way in the split-second between Muscular's pounce and his landing. The boom that resounded from the villain's impact was like thunder, and a chunk of the rock cliff crumbled to nothing. Kota squeezed his eyes tightly shut. He felt another rapid movement and heard, much nearer now, another crashing boom. He screamed, then lost his voice when his body was roughly jarred. Midoriya had hit the ground. They rolled across gravelled earth, and Kota lost his grip. He sat up and scrubbed both fists across his teary eyes before daring to open them.

They'd barely even made it to the treeline. Muscular wasn't about to let them get away. He was serious now, and he very seriously wanted to kill them. That last attack of his had buried his fist deep into the rock wall, and he panted with exhilaration now as he strained to wrench it free.

"Get back, Kota." Midoriya said lowly. "Not too far, or he'll go after you, so... maybe seven paces." Midoriya sucked in a deep breath. "If he gets me, start running as fast as you can for Camp."

Kota stepped back carefully. "If he g-gets you...?" Imagining that made him want to throw up. Muscular was almost loose now. "What're you saying?! C'mon, just don't do it! Let's run!" Midoriya only shook his head. "B-Both of your arms... are b-broken..." Kota pleaded desperately.

"It's okay!" Midoriya yelled to him, right as Muscular jerked his fist free with his own bellow of rage. The two ran at one another. When they met with mirror punches, sparks flew from Midoriya and blood erupted from the both of them.

"What's wrong?!" Muscular taunted. "You're weaker now!" He had the advantage, bearing down on Midoriya.

"No!" Midoriya's shoes scraped deep into the earth. "I'm okay! He won't get one step past me, so-" He groaned, in pain and exertion, "-run! Kota, _run!_"

Muscular's expression twisted with glee. "Wow, kid! You're something else!"

"Sh-shut up!" Midoriya was being worn down, beaten slowly nearer to the ground.

"Show me some _blood!_" Muscular's power surged. His muscles, already long past grotesque, doubled up on themselves yet again. "I'm gonna crush you!"

_Midoriya... no. You can't die like this. Don't die. Don't...! _Kota could take no more. He didn't know what he was going to do when he staggered to his feet - all he knew was that he was _not _going to run.

"Stop!" Kota screamed. Something swelled up inside of him, a wave of fury and determination, and Kota thrust both his hands out to unleash it. His Quirk activated, sending forth a torrent of water that he hoped might just wash away Muscular for good. It didn't; it did distract him, however.

Muscular raised his head to grin at Kota. "Wait your turn, 'kay? I'll kill you when _I'm _good and ready to-" His eyes popped and he hastily returned his attention to Midoriya.

"As if... I'd ever let you touch him!" Midoriya's eyes burned as bright as his Quirk. He pushed harder against Muscular, and he began to eke the advantage.

Kota let his hands fall weakly back to his sides. He watched, in absolute awe, as Midoriya's punch overpowered Muscular's. The villain was knocked away so forcefully that his body was embedded in the mountainside. Kota had to huddle down with his arms over his head to prevent being blown back. As the air settled and the noise faded, he continued to tremble. His tears wouldn't stop, either. He expected Muscular to say something, maybe even to rise up again, but the man didn't move. _It's over. This time, it's really over! _

Relief like he had never known before came over him. Kota slid his wondering gaze to Midoriya. He looked drained, and he'd been injured so terribly, but he was somehow standing tall and... _And he did what he said he would. Midoriya saved me. He saved me!_

Distant, willfully forgotten words came back to him - words from Aunt Shino, meant to comfort him. He heard her voice so clearly, like hearing it for the very first time all over again.

'_Your Mom and Dad, Water Hose... it's true that they went before their time and left you behind, but it's just as true that thanks to them, lives were saved. I bet that one day, you'll meet a certain someone... and then you'll get it._'

Kota stared at Midoriya, who stood dripping in his own blood and sweat and tears, and he did get it. "Even though you don't know me..." He whispered. "You don't know anything about me... but you did all this..."

'_You'll meet a true Hero, Kota. Someone who will stake their life to save yours. That's when you'll know what the word really means. To you, that person will be..._'

"My Hero." Kota whispered, then broke down entirely. _You're my Hero... Izuku Midoriya! _He sobbed without caring about how loud he was being, or how stupid he felt. He thought only of the pain in his heart, the relief in his gut, and the overwhelming gratitude he could not contain.


End file.
